Struga and Ohrid Trout: Part 14 of The Balkans

Round the North of Lake Ohrid to Struga, then back for an Ohrid (Style) Trout

Struga

North Macedonia

Struga

After a leisurely breakfast we set off for Struga. The town, about half the size of Ohrid is 15km away at the northernmost tip of the lake. We could have followed the main road, but despite the by now expected lack of signs we managed to find the minor road which hugs the coastline for most of the journey.

Ohrid to Struga and on round the western shore to the Albanian border

The Beaches and the Source of the Crna Drin

Struga is considered a down market resort in comparison with Ohrid. Its main attractions are what are described as its two ‘sandy beaches'. The cafés certainly struggle to give the right impression…..

One of Struga's beaches

…and the water is reputedly clean and undoubtedly warm, but on close inspection the beaches are neither sandy nor particularly attractive. Over 40% of Struga's residents are Albanians, and in accordance with their Muslim sensibilities the two beaches are called the 'male beach' and the 'female beach.' My photographic evidence suggests they are not actually (or no longer?) segregated, though for a warmish morning in early June there were surprisingly few people about.

'Sandy' beach, Struga

Between the two beaches is the official source of the Crna Drin (Black Deer) River. We had seen an alternative source the day before on the other side of the lake but although there are claims of a discrete flow through the lake, I find it hard to believe that the stream from springs thirty kilometres away is really the same river. There is a marked drop in level between the lake and the river and the water rushes through in dramatic fashion.

The waters of Lake Ohrid pour into the Crna Drin River, Struga

Literay Struga and the Miladinov Brothers

Struga was not always a down at heel backwater. In the 19th century it was the birthplace of the brothers, Dimitar and Konstantin Miladinov, poets who thought of themselves as Bulgarian but jointly created the modern Macedonian literary tradition. Konstantin Miladinov wrote Tăga za Jug (Longing for the South) in 1860 while in exile in cold, dark Russia. It is one of Macedonia's best known and most loved poems and one verse name checks both Struga and Ohrid.

No, I cannot stay here, no;
I cannot look upon these frosts.
Give me wings and I will don them;
I will fly to our own shores,
Go once more to our own places,
Go to Ohrid and to Struga.

Since 1966 an annual poetry festival has been held in Struga in memory of the brothers and has attracted an impressive guest list that includes Seamus Heaney, Pablo Neruda and Ted Hughes.

Coffee on Struga's Main Pedestrian Thoroughfare

We walked beside the river which is lined with cafés to the main pedestrian thoroughfare through the town. This, too, offers plenty of places to pause for a refreshingly cheap espresso, so pause we did.

Pedestrian street, Struga, looking modern and western (despite my lurking presence on the edge of the picture)

It is surprising how different the same street can look depending on the people you catch in the photograph.

Pedestrian street, Struga. The same street from almost the same place a few moments later looking distinctly eastern

There was little else to see in Struga so we strolled back to the car which was parked near the War Memorial. It is an extraordinarily ugly piece of concrete that looks unloved and uncared for. War memorials in the Balkans are problematic: though happy to celebrate the defeat of fascism, Macedonians are less happy to celebrate the victory of Marshall Tito's partisans which ensured Macedonia remained a part of Yugoslavia until the country unravelled a decade after Tito's death.

War Memorial, Struga

The Church of St Michael the Archangel, Radožda

From Struga we drove south and west, keeping to the minor road that hugs the coast until we reached the sizable fishing village of Radožda, the last settlement in Macedonia and the end of the road.

'Sleepy' is an overworked adjective for such places, but it seemed to fit here. Old men dozed on benches outside their houses or chatted with their neighbours across the street, raising their voices above the honking of frogs in the lake. Women busied themselves with a little desultory sweeping using brooms shaped like garden rakes.

The village sits between the lake and a rocky cliff up which a set of metal steps leads to the Church of St Michael the Archangel, the finest of several 13th century cave churches in the area.

Lynne starts up towards the Church of St Michael the Archangel, Radozda

The climb was hard work in the warm sunshine, but we were rewarded with a good view over the village. The headland on the right of the picture is well inside Albania.

Radozda from the steps up to the church

The church, like many others in Macedonia, has some impressive frescoes. Sadly it was locked, but paintings on the outside have survived several centuries of Macedonian weather remarkably well. It was a peaceful place, though even up here we could still hear the frogs in the lake below.

St Michael the Archangel, Radozda

There was also a small external chapel where Lynne lit a candle. Payment for the candles, 5 or 10 dinars depending on size, is left to trust, as is the tray containing the money. I find this a refreshing sign of people’s expectations in this out of the way place.

Lynne lights a candle, St Michael the Archangel, Radozda

Ohrid

Ohrid (style) Trout

A candle lit, we retraced out steps to Ohrid. The sun had been pleasantly warm, but as we drove back the clouds began to gather, the temperature fell and the windscreen became sprinkled with rain.

Salmo Letnica is a species of brown trout endemic to Lake Ohrid and related rivers. Unfortunately (for the trout) it is delicious and overfishing has brought it to the edge of extinction. Fishing is now banned in the breeding season in Albania and completely in Macedonian waters, but this protection is not enough and stocks continue to dwindle. Ohrid trout no longer appears on menus, but Ohrid-style trout does, though this seems to mean little other than grilled brown trout - which is a fine thing in its own right. We decided to dedicate lunch (and most of the early afternoon) to the bounty of the lake.

We chose a restaurant on the lakefront in the old town, sitting on the terrace over the water, behind a perspex screen to shield us from the by now unnecessarily chilly breeze. Lynne ordered the trout but I went for plasnica, tiny lake fish dusted with flour and gently fried - in other words whitebait.

We started, as had become our practice, with a glass of mastika. Lynne's trout was simply grilled and served with chips, a lettuce leaf, some beautifully sweet onion slices and a couple of pieces of shredded carrot - mainly for decoration. Macedonians are keen on salads but appear to have little interest in vegetables. My plasnica came just with lemon and high quality chunky bread, which was all it required.

Trout and small fishes, Ohrid

The wine list was confined to the produce of a single winery and at the waiter’s suggestion and against my better judgement we opted for a Chardonnay/Riesling blend. For the second day running we had encountered a waiter who knew his stuff, it was a fine match.

Lynne likes her fish 'not messed about with' so the trout was exactly how she likes it. The plasnica was good, too, treated much more sympathetically than the heavy handed ‘batter and deep fry’, the fate of whitebait in pubs at home.

At the end we had room for dessert and both chose baklava. The simple nuts and honey in pastry lacked the texture and subtlety of Greek/Turkish baklava, but it was still very enjoyable.

After lunch we poked around the market buying presents to take home and a picnic for our travels tomorrow. We had enjoyed our four days in Ohrid - it is a town which was well worth that much time, if not more.

Ohrid at dusk

We felt no need to eat again that day, but we did wander out in the evening to sit in a café, sup a beer and watch the world go by - and also to take a pleasing picture of Ohrid at dusk.

The Balkans

Bosnia and Herzogivina (May 2012)

Part 1 Sarajevo (1): The Old Town, The New Town and That Assassination
Part 2 Sarajevo (2): The Seige
Part 3 Mostar

Croatia (May 2012)

Part 4 Dubrovnik (1): Around the City Walls
Part 5 Korčula
Part 6 Dubrovnik (2): Inside the Walls

North Macedonia (May/June 2015)

Part 7 Flying into FYRoM
Part 8 Skopje
Part 9 The Matka Canyon and Stobi
Part 10 Prilep and Bitola
Part 11 The Mariovo and Lake Prespa
Part 12 Ohrid, the Heart of Slavic Macedonia
Part 13 Ohrid to Albania The East Coast of the Lake
Part 14 Struga and Ohrid Trout
Part 15 Debar and back to Skopje

Ohrid to the Albanian Border Along Lake Ohrid's Eastern Shore: Part 13 of The Balkans

Lakeside Villages Ancient & Modern, Sveti Naum and a Possible Source of the Black Drin River

North Macedonia

Breakfast in Ohrid

Breakfast in Ohrid, like everywhere else except the Popova Kula winery, was eggs usually boiled sometimes scrambled and a selection of cold meats and mild cheeses. Macedonian bread, white and brown is pleasantly chunky but it all becomes a bit repetitive after a while though the olives - big, juicy and full of flavour - were a redeeming feature.

Elšani in the Galičica National Park

After a leisurely start we set off beneath a blue sky, driving south round the lake shore. After 10 km a side road took us into the hills of the Galičica National Park. Roads only graze the edge of the mountain wilderness and we ventured no further than the village of Elšani perched on a ledge above the lake. After dark in Ohrid we had seen lights twinkling from a gap in the forest, high on the mountainside - that was Elšani (probably).

The post covers a short drive from Ohrid down the east coast of the lake to the Albanian border

The village was further than we expected, several kilometres from the cluster of dwellings around the turn-off. We parked in the square and walked back in search of the church which is reputed to have a fine view of the lake. Like many local villages there is much building work, the new houses looking large and prosperous. Ironically, Elšani was the only place in Macedonia we saw a working animal, a donkey laden with twigs.

Working donkey, Elšani

Walking up the hill we found no church but there was a good view of Lake Ohrid lying below us, placid and blue and bathed in sunshine, though the clouds were gathering. At the edge of the village the dwellings looked sad and dilapidated, but we were unsure whether or not they were occupied.

Lake Ohrid from Elšani

We found the church as we left the village. It was lower down than we had expected, the view was no better than we had already seen and the building was locked.

Gradište, the Bay of Bones and a (Reconstructed) Village on Stilts

Returning to the ‘main’ road, though it is hardly big enough to justify that title, we continued south and soon passed through the small village of Gradište. On its southern edge, overlooked by the earthworks of a small Roman castellum, is the overdramatically named Bay of Bones. A stilt village on the lake existed here from the early Bronze to the late Iron Age. The site has been the centre of much underwater archaeology, which has including the bringing up of the remains of some of the former inhabitants - hence the name.

'Bay of Bones' stilt village, Gradište

The small museum has retained some interesting artefacts from the old village, but the new tourist development is the rebuilt ‘ancient village’. We were not the only visitors but it was hardly crowded; maybe we were too early in the season.

As we crossed the bridge to the village the gathering clouds decided it was time for rain. We sat in one the wattle and daub huts, pleased that the new thatch was doing its job effectively. The original inhabitants must have often listened to the pattering of rain on thatch – and also to a loud and persistent honking noise from a little further away.

Waiting for the rain to pass in Bronze Age luxury, Gradište

Frogs in Lake Ohrid

When the rain stopped we went to investigate, pretty sure we knew what the noise was, but uncertain if we would be able to see the perpetrators. In fact they were obvious, liberally dotting the surface of the lake. The honking of Lake Ohrid's frogs is renowned and they were living up to their billing, the males lying in the water and puffing out their cheeks. I do not think it's a good look, or a good noise, but then I am not a female frog.

Lake Ohrid frog in amorous mode

Picnic tables, each with their own thatched roof, had been set out on the slope between the car park and the museum, and as we had acquired the wherewithal for a picnic yesterday evening in Ohrid, we decided to eat in the dry.

Trpejca - Lakeside Village

After lunch we drove on to the next village. Trpejca, apart from being almost unpronounceable, is a traditional lake side village, though inevitably tourism is changing its face. The passing shower had moved on to bother someone else by the time we parked in the village square and walked down to the lake through streets free from cars - their narrowness dissuades drivers, but the street's habit of occasionally turning into steps is a clincher.

Trpejca

Without tides or large waves lakeside fishing villages get much closer to the water than seaside villages would ever dare. Trpejca has a narrow shingle beach on which boats were pulled up. I took off my sandals and paddled in the warm crystal clear water, but the shingle was extraordinarily painful to stand on.

The waterfront, Trpejca

The village was very quiet and the restaurants along the front were empty. It was warm and sunny now the rain had passed, but the season had clearly not yet arrived.

The water is clear and warm, the pebbles sharp - Lake Ohrid, Trpejca

The Monastery of Sveti Naum

A further 7km on is Ljubaništa, the last village in Macedonia some 4km from the Albanian border. Turning off the road after two of those four kilometres took us to the monastery of Sveti Naum. This is the end of the road and the main tourist attraction on this shore. The car park was busy, but far from full.

We walked down a path through a line of souvenir stalls, past a couple of restaurants that were doing good business and found what appeared to be the entrance to the monastery, which in part also seems to be a hotel.

The monastery was founded in 905 by St Naum of Ohrid, who is also buried here. He was a Bulgarian/Macedonian monk (the distinction is more recent than most Macedonians are willing to admit) and a disciple of Saints Cyril and Methodius. He accompanied them to Bohemia and contributed to the development of the Glagolitic script. On returning to Ohrid, he assisted in the development of a Slavonic liturgy to replace the existing Greek liturgy and so establish Bulgarian cultural independence from Byzantium.

He died in 910 and is buried in his own church which, with the usual Macedonian reluctance to sign anything, we eventually found in a courtyard of the monastery/hotel.

The Church of Sveti Naum in the monastery of the same name, between Ljubaništa and the Albanian border

It is a beautiful old building with the usual medieval frescoes and icons. Near the door is the tomb of Sveti Naum himself, and legend says that if you put your ear to the tomb you can hear his heartbeat. We diligently knelt on the floor, and laid our ears just about where his heart should be, listened hard and heard.....nothing. I was mildly disappointed, but hardly surprised.

The Icononstasis, Sveti Naum, between Ljubaništa and the Albanian border

Like all Macedonian churches the walls are covered in frescoes and as the aged monk selling tickets stayed in a booth outside I ventured a photograph or two. I particularly liked a painting appearing to show winged horses attempting to pull a cart in several directions at once. Lynne, with her biblical knowledge, assured me it was a depiction of the Assumption of Elijah and the horses are all working together to pull his chariot upwards into heaven.

Elijah being carried up to heaven - though it looks more likely they will pull the chariot apart
Sveti Naum, between Ljubaništa and the Albanian border

To the Source of the Black Drin River (Possibly)

Leaving Sveti Naum we walked back towards the car park, with large blue lake Ohrid on our left and a smaller darker looking lake on our right. What all visitors to Sveti Naum should do, once they have failed to hear his heart beat, is seek out what may be the source of the Black Drin River.

A man was just rowing his previous clients back to the landing stage, and as there was no one else about he fixed his beady eye on us. We settled a price (in Euros) climbed aboard his boat and he rowed us off across the black waters of the lake to its farthest shore.

Rowing to the source of the Black Drin

Although black, the waters are unbelievably clear and clean, and kept that way in part by a ban on motors - hence the rowing. We could see fish, the inevitable frogs and a just a few of the many birds living among the reed beds, but the most remarkable sight was the source itself, water bubbling up through the sandy bottom of the lake. Several more conventional springs surround the end of the lake.

Underwater springs, the source of the Black Drin (maybe)

After our boat trip we walked to where the waters of the black lake discharge into Lake Ohrid. There is a considerable drop from one to the other, and the water rushes through at the sort of pace that you might imagine would empty the smaller lake. Of course it does not; the springs beneath and around the lake must be pumping out far more water than it would appear to the casual observer.

Reed beds near the 'source of the Black Drin'

The official source of the Crno Drin is at Struga where it leaves the lake. The name is often half translated as Black Drin, which is inconsistent, but makes it sound dark, mysterious and slightly dangerous. What we had seen is touted as being the river’s source, but whether it can really be described as the same river is doubtful, though it is claimed the water forms a definite flow through the lake.

Where the Back Drin enters Lake Ohrid

Back to Ohrid and an Excellent Dinner

Leaving Sveti Naun we returned to Ohrid.

In the evening we dined at a restaurant with the Cyrillic name of сун, which should be transliterated ‘sun’ but the management had taken the unfortunate decision to write CUN in large letters over the door.

At seven thirty the place was filling with diners, most of them foreigners. Ohrid is a major holiday resort, but largely for Macedonians. Finding so many foreigners gathered at this one restaurant was maybe related to it being unequivocally a restaurant, most other establishments were bar-restaurants and Macedonians tend to drink out rather than eat out.

Over a glass of mastika we perused a menu dominated by skara (grilled meats). I ordered calve's liver while Lynne chose dolma. The wine list was laid out by winery, and we plumped for a vranec from the Stobi Winery we had passed at Grasko. The waiter shook his head, saying the vranec from Popova Kula (the winery we had stayed at in Demir Kapija) was far better. Cynics might wonder if his enthusiasm for Popova Kula was based on it being 150 denar more expensive, but I let him talk me into it. The wine’s dark smoky depths went so well with the dolma and the succulent slices of liver lightly charred on the grill, and with the dolma, that the waiter’s opinion was entirely vindicated.

I am a fan of Vranec which produces most of the best red wines of Bosnia, Macedonia and Montenegro (and probably of other nearby countries of which I am yet ignorant.) At its best, as here, it is a dark red wine with a rich smokiness, grippy tannins, ripe plummy fruit and balancing acidity. It has fruit, complexity and structure, all the things wine buffs bang on about, so why then, I wonder is it unknown outside the Balkans?

We just had enough space to share a couple of desserts; ice cream and Ohrid cake. The local cake is on all menus, and although the cake itself is nothing special it comes steeped in syrup, making it irresistible.

A complimentary glass of Rakija, Macedonian brandy, rounded off a very pleasant evening.

The Balkans

Bosnia and Herzogivina (May 2012)

Part 1 Sarajevo (1): The Old Town, The New Town and That Assassination
Part 2 Sarajevo (2): The Seige
Part 3 Mostar

Croatia (May 2012)

Part 4 Dubrovnik (1): Around the City Walls
Part 5 Korčula
Part 6 Dubrovnik (2): Inside the Walls

North Macedonia (May/June 2015)

Part 7 Flying into FYRoM
Part 8 Skopje
Part 9 The Matka Canyon and Stobi
Part 10 Prilep and Bitola
Part 11 The Mariovo and Lake Prespa
Part 12 Ohrid, the Heart of Slavic Macedonia
Part 13 Ohrid to Albania The East Coast of the Lake
Part 14 Struga and Ohrid Trout
Part 15 Debar and back to Skopje

Ohrid, the Heart of Slavic Macedonia: Part 12 of The Balkans

A Medieval Castle, An Ancient Greek Theatre, Several Churches and an Excellent Lunch of Lake Ohrid Eel and Carp

Ohrid, the Briefest of Intros

North Macedonia

Ohrid

Ohrid began life in the 4th century BC under the name Lychnidos (City of Light) perhaps because of the reflections from its clear, blue lake. When the Romans replaced the Macedonian Greeks, Lychnidos’ position on the Via Egnatia (the route from the Adriatic to Byzantium) ensured its continued prosperity. The Slavs arrived in the seventh century and renamed the city Ohrid (city on a hill) which is accurate, if perhaps lacking poetry.

From the Lakeside to the Upper Gate

After a leisurely breakfast we strolled in warm sunshine along the lakeside promenade to the square at the foot of the hill on which the old city stands.

The lakeside promenade and the old town of Ohrid

We followed the old streets across the face of the hill and then upwards….

Through the streets of the old town, Ohrid

… until we reached the Upper Gate in the curtain wall of Car Samoil's castle which dominates the old town.

The Upper Gate, Ohrid

The Earliest Slavic University

We started our tour by descending a short way along Klimentov Univerzitet.

In 862 the brothers who were to become the Saints Cyril and Methodius were dispatched form Constantinople to evangelise the Slavs in central Europe. They travelled at the request of Prince Rastislav of Moravia who was less concerned about his people being pagan than about the growing power of the Church of Rome.

Catholic liturgy was in Latin, then still the language of the Western European elite, and Cyril and Methodius realised the Slavs needed a liturgy in their own tongue. Unfortunately the Slavs were illiterate and their language unwritten so the brothers developed the script that became known as Glagolitic and used it to write a liturgy in what is now known as Old Church Slavonic (Modern Church Slavonic is used in services in most Eastern orthodox churches today.)

Ohrid and its lake are in the southwest corner of Macedonia

The success of Cyril and his bro was based on the careful training of disciples and two of the foremost were Saint Kliment of Ohrid (we met him outside the new cathedral of St Kliment in Skopje) and St Naum (see next post). These two eventually returned to Ohrid and set up the first university in the Slav world where they developed the script named after St Cyril, now used throughout eastern Europe and central Asia*. The street name commemorates Kliment’s university; Ohrid's 'University of Science and Technology' in the modern town was founded in 2009 and is a rather different institution.

The Church of Sveta Bogoridica and Wonderfully Described Icons

We were in Klimentov Univerzitet looking for the entrance to the 13th century church of Sveta Bogoridica Perivlepta where the bones of St Kliment were once kept. It should have been easy – we could even see the church - but the entrance to the small courtyard was not where the signs pointed. Eventually we found the ticket office, paid our 100 denars (£1.10) and swiftly wished we had not. It was Sunday, a service was in progress and the church was packed - it is small so that required a little more than a dozen people. To enter we would have to walk over the upturned feet of the kneeling worshippers, and you should not trample on people’s soles on a Sunday.

Sveti Bogoridica Perivlepta, Ohrid

We missed the promised ‘vivid biblical frescoes’ but settled for visiting the renowned icon gallery across the courtyard.

A large woman barred our entry demanding another 100 denars. We showed her our tickets, but that was not good enough, the icons required a separate ticket. I sometimes come over all mean when I feel I am not getting value for money, but Lynne was having none of it, forcibly** extracting the notes from my scrooge-like grip. I am glad she did, not so much because of the icons, which were fine enough, but for the language used to describe them. We had seen the huge painting of Christ Pantocrator at St Kliment’s in Skopje, but here we encountered Jesus and Mary variously painted as ‘psychosostria’ (saviour of souls), ‘peribleptos’ (admired) ‘episkepsis’ (questioning) and ‘hodigitria’ (showing the way). Lynne made a note and we looked the words up later. Perhaps I am a little odd, preferring the words to the pictures, but then I have always preferred the words to the music as well.

The Greek Amphitheatre

Returning to the Upper Gate and walking a short distance in the other direction took us to the city's amphitheatre. There are four such theatres in Macedonia and this was our third in three days, but whereas the others are Roman, Ohrid's is Greek in origin. The Greeks used it as a theatre but later the more bloodthirsty Romans held gladiator shows and executions. It was then covered up and forgotten until its accidental rediscovery in the 1980s. Only the lower tiers remain, but it is again being used for performances; during Ohrid's Summer Festival it has hosted the Bolshoi Ballet and José Carreras, among others.

The amphitheatre, Ohrid

Car Samoil's Castle

Returning, again, to the Upper gate we had problems with more dodgy signs before we located the road up to the castle entrance.

Up to Car Samoil's Castle, Ohrid

The First Bulgarian Empire lasted from 681 to 1018 and ruled a considerable area to the north of the Byzantine Empire. The capital moved several times and in 982 it arrived in Ohrid which had long been the cultural and military centre of south west Bulgaria - the distinction between Macedonian and Bulgarian is a recent invention.

Car Samoil (Csar Samuel), the last ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire (there was a Second from the 12th to 14th century), built the hilltop fortress over an earlier fortification possibly constructed by Philip II of Macedonia, the father of Alexander the Great.

Car Samoil's Castle, Ohrid

There is little to see inside the castle ...

Inside Car Samoil's Castle, Ohrid

....the main attraction is to climb the steps onto the walls and see the view over the city of Ohrid.....

Ohrid from Car Samoil's Castle

... and across the lake.

The Northern tip of Lake Ohrid, from Car Samoil's Castle

Much of Car Samoil's reign was taken up by war with Byzantium. The Byzantine Empire won a decisive victory at the Battle of Kleidon in 1014 and captured 15,000 Bulgarian soldiers. The Emperor Boris II (Boris the Bulgar Slayer) blinded his captives leaving 1 man in every 100 with one eye so he could lead the others home. When Samoil saw his returning army he died of a heart attack. He is buried beside Lake Prespa, his grave being on what is now the Greek side of the border. While medieval warfare was undoubtedly barbaric, this is a case where history was, for once, written by the losers not the winners. The mass blinding was probably Bulgarian propaganda and never actually happened.

Church of St Kliment and St Pantelejmon

We drank our morning espresso at a café outside the castle gates and then followed a forested path downhill to the Church of Saints Kliment and Pantelejmon, a shiny new building which sits behind the remains of a 4th century basilica.

Fourth century basilica, Ohrid

When Saint Kliment returned to Ohrid after his travels with Saints Cyril and Methodius he was given a small church on this site. He had it rebuilt as a much larger church and dedicated it to Saint Pantelejmon, personally designing the crypt where he was later interred. Under the Ottoman Empire it became a mosque and then a church again, undergoing many further changes over the centuries, some constructive, some destructive. The current structure was started in 2003 by the archaeologist Pasko Kuzman. It has been hand built as close to the original design as possible using as much of the historical material as was available and has been re-dedicated to both St Kliment and St Pantelejmon.

The Church of St Kliment and St Pantalejmon, Ohrid

Inside are more icons and we were invited to peer into the glass covered crypt to see the relics of St Kliment, which are taken out for an annual parade. It was too dark down there to make out much, and I have never understood the fascination the Catholic and Orthodox churches have with body parts of the saints - or Buddhists with bits of the Buddha. After a millennium of upheavals, changes of regime, mayhem and destruction it is an act of faith to believe these really are bits of St Kliment not randomly collected bones.

Kaneo, Church of St John and an Excellent Lunch

A further descent along a pine fringed path took us down to the lake side at Kaneo, once a fishing hamlet just side Ohrid, now a stony beach with a few pleasure craft and a couple of restaurants on the edge of the city. On a headland above the beach is the 13th century church of St John containing a fresco of Christ Pantocrator that has only recently been rediscovered.

St John's, Kaneo, from above

It is the setting of the church which makes it so beautiful whether viewed from above, or from the beach - or more precisely the decking of the Letna Bavča restaurant, which stretches out over the water.

St John's, Kaneo, from the deck of the restaurant

Seduced by the scenery, the sun on the clear blue waters and the promise of fresh lake carp and eel we found an empty table and relaxed after our morning’s exertions.

We ordered glasses of mastika. It had taken us a few attempts to work out how best to drink this nectar which looks like ouzo but is in some ways closer to pastis. We had expected it to arrive with a carafe of water, but discovered that it is not served with water but with a glass of small ice cubes. You drop as many as you like into your glass and drink it as the ice melts and the mastika goes cloudy - in warm sunshine it works magnificently.

Lynne's carp was a steak across a large fish, the flesh well-flavoured and beautifully cooked. Carp can be muddy, but this was not, the limpid waters of Lake Ohrid do not do mud. My eel was delightful, the flesh sweet and the fat running.

Lynne eats lake carp beside the lake, Kaneo, Ohrid

A bottle of Zupljanka from Tikveš (inevitably) had the acidity to cut the fat and was an excellent accompaniment. I thought it was a new grape to me but have since discovered Zupljanka is the local name for the more familiar Chasselas. It was a long lunch, sitting in the sun, sipping wine and reflecting upon what a lovely place we had stumbled upon.

Church of St Sophia, Ohrid

It was hard to tear ourselves away from the sun drenched decking, but after a good strong coffee we paid the surprisingly modest bill and made our way up hill from the cove, along the hillside and then down to Saint Sophia's, though we suspected we had probably seen enough churches for the day.

Founded in the 9th century most of it dates from the 11th and the frescoes, which were painted over the next two hundred years, are of international importance. The walls of almost every church in Macedonia are covered with medieval frescoes and we were beginning to feel a little frescoed out.

Saint Sophia's, Ohrid

We followed the road as it dropped through the delightful old town and then wandered slowly back along the promenade.

An Evening Beer and a Pop-up Church

We did not feel the need to eat anything else that day, but in the evening we wandered along to the bar-lined street that runs inland along the base of the hill, sat at one of the pavement cafés and enjoyed a leisurely beer (or two). There were plenty of bars to choose from, Ohrid is not only the spiritual heart of Macedonia, its situation beside the country’s biggest lake makes it also the largest holiday resort – a strange mixture of Blackpool and Canterbury.

Pop-up Church, Ohrid

But even here we could not get away from frescoes and icons. Just across from where we were sitting was a pop-up church, the open doors of a market stall revealing an impromptu iconostasis. Throughout the evening, in a street otherwise given over to hedonistic pleasure, a steady stream of people stopped by the icons, crossed themselves and offered a brief prayer, many of them also dropping a few denars in the box and lighting a candle.

*In fairness I should point out that Preslav in modern Bulgaria makes the same claims.
**I would like to make it clear the ‘force’ applied was purely verbal. There was no unseemly scuffle in the precinct of Sveti Bogoridica Perivlepta.

The Balkans

Bosnia and Herzogivina (May 2012)

Part 1 Sarajevo (1): The Old Town, The New Town and That Assassination
Part 2 Sarajevo (2): The Seige
Part 3 Mostar

Croatia (May 2012)

Part 4 Dubrovnik (1): Around the City Walls
Part 5 Korčula
Part 6 Dubrovnik (2): Inside the Walls

North Macedonia (May/June 2015)

Part 7 Flying into FYRoM
Part 8 Skopje
Part 9 The Matka Canyon and Stobi
Part 10 Prilep and Bitola
Part 11 The Mariovo and Lake Prespa
Part 12 Ohrid, the Heart of Slavic Macedonia
Part 13 Ohrid to Albania The East Coast of the Lake
Part 14 Struga and Ohrid Trout
Part 15 Debar and back to Skopje